HPER to add lecture hall, offices

To satisfy the growing number of faculty, staff and students, the School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation is adding approximately 24,000 square feet of space to the north side of its building.

Cyndi Miller, director of Marketing and Communications in the HPER Dean’s Office, said the total cost of the project is about $6 million.

Known as the Courtyard Project, the construction is focused on developing an unused space within the interior of the current building into a two-and-a-half level multifunctional area for academic and administrative purposes.

Ernie Kempf, the contractor of Courtyard Project with 3D Professional Contracting, said the construction is currently entering the second and final phase and he expected the work to be done by around April 2011.

Kempf said currently the work process has been running smoothly with four to five workers working on the site five days a week. But he said sometimes the crew has to work extra days during the week based on the actual process.

HPER Assistant Dean for Administration David Skirvin said the school has been considering the renovation plan since the early 1990s in order to utilize the interior courtyard that has not had functional value for about 50 years.

“For many years, the school leaders have speculated about adding more classrooms, lecture halls and administration offices to that courtyard,” Skirvin said. “But because of budget issues over the years, we were not able to fund the project.”

The project will add a 178-seat lecture hall, 32 faculty and staff offices, a conference room, academic advising offices, a large open space and a research lab.

Though the Board of Trustees approved the overall design in September 2008, Skirvin said the project did not start until the funding issue was resolved. HPER found the reserve funds available within the school, which allowed HPER to work on the project without using state revenue or students’ money.

HPER worked out the financing details with the Office of the Treasurer, and the construction was approved by the Board of Trustees, State Budget Committee and
Indiana Finance Authority.

“The contractor was out there looking for this job, so we made the deal on a good price,” Skirvin said.

The first phase of the project lasted from May to late September, during which the interior windows of offices along the courtyard were all blocked.

“The faculty members have lost their windows,” he said. “But the idea behind that was to get all the work done before the next phase begins. When we start to build the framework of the structure, we try to give a minimum of disruptions.”

Skirvin said the project is also taking accessibility into consideration, including looking at how to use room space wisely and having power doors updated in the bathrooms.

Outside the HPER Building workers have blocked part of the area next to the Woodlawn tennis courts for staging purposes, cutting off the shortcut from the west side of HPER to the Arboretum.

However, the tennis court is still open for use, as are all facilities within the building.

On Woodlawn field, HPER is installing a fire-protection line that requires building a trench. Skirvin said the school is currently trying to put down the sod, but the over-heated summer in Bloomington delayed the process.

“We installed the sod last week, and we have to water 24 hours a day for several weeks,” he said. “We want to make sure the sod grows and nobody gets on them.”

However, Skirvin said the installation work has not affected the recreational sports on campus much so far, and the blocked area will be cleared away soon.

“Maybe in several more weeks,” he said. “But definitely by the end of the semester.”